Breakdown of watasi ha sinyuu no mazimena seikaku wo totemo sonkeisite imasu.
Questions & Answers about watasi ha sinyuu no mazimena seikaku wo totemo sonkeisite imasu.
は marks the topic of the sentence: what we’re talking about.
In this sentence:
- 私は = As for me / speaking about me…
- The rest of the sentence is what is being said about that topic.
Using が (私が) would sound like you are emphasizing who it is that respects the friend’s personality, often in contrast to someone else:
- 私が親友のまじめな性格をとても尊敬しています。
→ I (as opposed to others) really respect my close friend’s serious personality.
In neutral statements about yourself, 私は is much more common (and very often, even 私 itself is just omitted in real conversation).
- 友達 (ともだち) = a friend in general.
- 親友 (しんゆう) = a close / best friend, someone you’re very emotionally close to.
So:
- 友達 = friend
- 親友 = close friend / best friend
Using 親友 tells the listener this is a particularly important and close friend, not just any casual friend.
Both are possible, but the focus is slightly different:
親友のまじめな性格
→ my close friend’s serious personality
Here, 親友 is understood as “my close friend” from context. Japanese often omits obvious possessors like “my.”私の親友のまじめな性格
→ my close friend’s serious personality (more literally spelled out)
This explicitly says “my close friend.”
Usually, if it’s clear we’re talking about your friend (because you said 私は at the start), 親友の is natural and not ambiguous. Adding 私の can feel a bit heavy or overly explicit unless you really need to clarify whose close friend it is.
まじめ is a な‑adjective. When a な‑adjective directly modifies a noun, you must add な:
- まじめ + 性格 → まじめな性格 = a serious personality
You cannot say:
- ✕ まじめ性格
- ✕ まじめ性格な
Those are ungrammatical. For な‑adjectives, the basic pattern is:
[な‑adjective] + な + [noun]
まじめな性格
きれいな部屋 (a clean room)
有名な人 (a famous person)
性格 means personality / character.
- まじめな性格 = a serious personality / serious nature
You can say:
- 親友のまじめさをとても尊敬しています。
→ I really respect how serious my close friend is.
Here:
- まじめさ = the quality of being serious (turning まじめ into an abstract noun, “seriousness”).
Nuance difference:
- まじめな性格 – slightly more concrete, sounds like you’re talking about their overall personality, their nature as a person.
- まじめさ – focuses more on the abstract quality “seriousness” itself.
Both are natural; the original just highlights the friend’s personality as a whole.
を marks the direct object of the verb:
- (私は) 親友のまじめな性格を とても 尊敬して います。
→ I respect my close friend’s serious personality.
So:
- 尊敬する = to respect (something / someone)
- What is respected? → 親友のまじめな性格
- Therefore it takes the object marker を.
Using が here would be incorrect because 尊敬する is a transitive verb that takes its object with を in standard grammar.
Both are grammatically correct but have different nuances:
尊敬します
→ Simple polite present form. Often used for regular, repeated, or volitional actions (I will respect, I do respect).
With an attitude or state like “respect,” it can sound a bit more formal or statement-like.尊敬して います
→ ている form. With verbs about feelings, relationships, or attitudes, ～ている often describes a current, ongoing state.
So 尊敬している means “(I) am in a state of respecting (them),” i.e. I respect them (as a lasting attitude).
For things like:
- 好きだ → 好きでいる / 好きです
- 信じる → 信じている
- 尊敬する → 尊敬している
the ている form sounds very natural when talking about a continuous attitude or feeling. That’s why 尊敬しています is the most natural here.
して is the て‑form of the verb する in 尊敬する (“to respect”).
- 尊敬する → 尊敬して
- います
Pattern:
[verb in て‑form] + いる / います
This construction (Vている) can show:
- A progressive action:
- 食べている = be eating
- A resulting / ongoing state (especially with certain verbs, like feelings):
- 結婚している = be married
- 尊敬している = (be in a state of) respecting someone
So here, して connects 尊敬する to います to form the ongoing-state meaning:
- 尊敬している → I respect (and continue to respect) …
とても means very / really in a neutral, standard way.
- とても尊敬しています。
→ I respect (them) very much.
Other options:
- すごく (colloquial, a bit more casual/emotional)
- 親友のまじめな性格をすごく尊敬しています。
- 本当に (emphasizes truth/sincerity: “truly, really”)
- 親友のまじめな性格を本当に尊敬しています。
Nuance:
- とても – polite, neutral, common even in writing.
- すごく – casual, spoken, can feel stronger or more emotional.
- 本当に – stresses genuineness: you really mean it.
The original とても fits well in a polite, general statement.
Yes, you have some flexibility, though some positions are more natural than others. Common placements:
- 親友のまじめな性格をとても尊敬しています。 ✅
- とても親友のまじめな性格を尊敬しています。 △ (understandable, but sounds a bit marked)
Most natural is to put とても right before the verb phrase it modifies (here, 尊敬している):
- とても 尊敬しています ← best
Placing it before the object (親友のまじめな性格を) is uncommon and can sound unnatural unless you’re deliberately emphasizing something stylistically.
Yes. In natural Japanese, subjects like “I” are often omitted when clear from context.
- (私は) 親友のまじめな性格をとても尊敬しています。
Simply:
- 親友のまじめな性格をとても尊敬しています。
will usually be understood as “I really respect my close friend’s serious personality,” as long as context makes it obvious that you’re talking about yourself.
You keep 私は when you:
- need to introduce/change the topic, or
- want to contrast with someone else (“I (at least) respect them, even if others don’t,” etc.).
The sentence ends with ～しています, which is polite (です・ます form).
- 尊敬しています → polite
- 尊敬している → plain/casual
So:
- 親友のまじめな性格をとても尊敬しています。
→ Suitable in most polite conversations: with teachers, coworkers, people you’re not close to, or in writing.
If talking casually to a close friend, you might say:
- 親友のまじめな性格をとても尊敬してる。
Same meaning, just casual tone.
Meaning and grammar are the same:
- まじめ (hiragana)
- 真面目 (kanji)
Both mean serious / earnest / diligent (as a personality trait).
Nuances:
- 真面目 (kanji) is common in more formal writing, articles, textbooks, etc.
- まじめ (hiragana) is common in everyday writing, messaging, or when the writer wants a softer feel.
In your sentence, you could write either:
- 親友のまじめな性格
- 親友の真面目な性格
Both are correct and natural.